Thanks for noticing, Geekgurl.
Im not sure what you mean when you say "things sounded better", it could be the particular mix you did in PT was better than the one you did in CEP. Each program has its own native effects which are not equal. Cubase is a great program and Im a big fan of most steinberg creations. I use their plugs quite a bit (the mastering edition plugs, magneto (only on individual tracks) VSTs like
the pro52 and B4). I used the effects native to CEP for a long time before getting into waves and steinberg plugs and CEPs effects will take you far when used right. Every effect has things it will do that work and things it wont do. Its very important to pay attention to that. For instance, too much spread or too many voices on the chorus can kill a vocal track. It will suck out all the detail and cause digital artifacts. I think CEPs reverbs are great but there too they may sound digital or sweet and open dependning on what you do. The compression is not really usable in a conventional way and unless you are just doing very soft knee stuff I would get a plugin like waves RCL or the C1 or ultrafunk's comp. The other thing to watch is the paraEQ which tends to require more gain than waves' renEQ which is smoother and requires less gain. The more gain you use when EQing, the more potential for distortions and soundloss in other frequencies. Its not a bad EQ but renEQ is better. RenEQ is also a CPU hog while CEPs effects are not. The flanger, delay, phase, dynamic delay, etc ...all good stuff. Every effect in CEP has enough parameters to get alot of dif sounds out of. Are there better effects out there? Yes. Nobody touches waves in most areas. But overall CEPs effects are above average and when used right -- will sound as good as some of the best stuff out there but if youre talking about basic tracking, what goes in, goes in. CEP doesnt playback lower or record lower. Projects Ive recorded using CEP, waves and steinberg have been as loud as anything out there. Loudness and definition has everything to do with EQ and compression. Doing that right is a matter of experience and good monitoring.
I havent spent enough time with sonar to make a call. Seems like a decent program. Ntracks effects blow IMO. Cubase is probably the best all in one program out there but its not stable on every system. You get VSTs, great effects, MIDI, nice layout, etc. Ive been using CEP for years, I like what they did in CEP2 and am happy with my setup. If I would change I would probably go to cubase or nuendo.